Flemington meeting in doubt

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Any significant overnight rain on the already saturated
Flemington racecourse will see tomorrow's group 1 Lightning Stakes
meeting shifted to next Tuesday after the track absorbed more than
150 millimetres of rain up to 9am yesterday.

While horses from three major stables were being evacuated from
low-lying points of Flemington racecourse, Victorian Racing Club
officials were last night bracing themselves for more expected
heavy rain.

At first light yesterday morning shocked racecourse officials
discovered the Betting Ring, Bird Cage area and most car parks
under water, while carpets in the administration block were ruined
when water rushed through during the night.

Track manager Terry Watson said that more than 150mm had fallen
at Flemington and stressed that the club's greatest problem was
that the rising Maribyrnong river was halting any significant
drainage from the water-logged track.

Watson and his staff said they would also be monitoring the high
tide from the river. "We will watch the banks very closely as we
don't have any idea of the amount of water that will rush through
this evening," he said yesterday.

"Don't forget 150-odd mil is six inches in the old so you can
now understand our plight. When the river gets so high it blocks
any drainage from the track. We just have to wait and see what
happens overnight."

Following the heavy overnight rain and subsequent minor flooding
to some of the trackside facilities, a decision on whether the
meeting will go ahead will be made at lunchtime today.

It is believed that some members of the VRC committee were
privately urging the club to reschedule the meeting to Tuesday
whatever the overnight weather produces.

One committeeman said last night: "If we go to Tuesday we are
helping owners trainers and horses.

"We are staging a meeting based in the early part of the autumn
and these horses have long campaigns ahead - in three days the
track could nearly be good."

Trainers Brian Mayfield-Smith, Graeme Rogerson and Mike Moroney
were yesterday forced to evacuate their stables because of fears
that the Maribyrnong River would flood. The majority of the horses
were taken to the nearby Showgrounds for stabling.

The Flemington racecourse was yesterday closed for all
trackwork, a move seldom adopted by track officials.

VRC Chief Executive Dale Monteith said: "If the meeting is
postponed on Saturday, Tuesday is considered the most appropriate
day to reschedule the meeting to. This would allow time for horses
that missed track work on Thursday to complete their preparation
and allow for the facilities at Flemington appropriate time to
recover from the excessive rain.

"Our aim is to race on Saturday at this stage, Flemington is a
track which has shown great powers of recovery. In making the final
decision, the safety of horses and jockeys will always be
paramount," he said.